Motorcycle Insurance in Sarasota

Motorcycle insurance is quite similar to insurance you purchase for your car or truck. Many of the same coverage options you can buy for your automobile are available for your bike, although I see far too many people come to me insured somewhere else who are missing some of the most important coverage on their policy. One of the biggest mistakes that people can make when they purchase motorcycle insurance is failing to insure the most important thing on their policy.

Themselves.

The cost to replace your bike after an accident may pale in comparison to the medical bills you or your passenger may face if your hurt. Although this may not be the cheapest coverage you purchase for your motorcycle insurance, it may turn out to be the most important, cause let’s face it. Even in a small accident, the bike isn’t the only thing that’s going to be scratched up from the pavement.
This still is only scratching the surface on what coverage options are available to you on your motorcycle policy.

Bodily Injury

Did you know that you can be sued for injuries and damages that arise from an accident caused by your bike, even if you weren’t driving/riding on the bike during the accident? Many people may be under the belief that because they weren’t driving their bike when it crashed, which resulted in injuries or property damage, they aren’t liable. However, this is unfortunately not true. The legal owner of a vehicle can be sued even if they weren’t the one operating the motorcycle at the time of accident, and if you don't have Bodily Injury coverage on your policy you may be in a world of hurt yourself.

Questions to ask include:

What limits of Bodily Injury Coverage should I carry on my policy?

What does my Bodily Injury cover?

Who would my Bodily Injury coverage apply to?

Uninsured Motorist

Did you know that over 12% of drivers nationwide are underinsured (or uninsured)? That means while you are on the road, at least 1 out of 10 cars around you at any given time have no insurance or if you’re lucky, have minimum coverage. Are you ready for the real mind blower? The rate of those uninsured or underinsured vehicles, who zoom down the highway mere inches away from you, this rate is almost double in Florida! Approximately 24% of registered drivers in Florida are either carrying inadequate coverage or no coverage at all.

If you wanted to see some statistics on this, please click the links below:

Imagine that you are taking a joy ride on your bike. As you stop at red-light, BAMMM, your rear-ended by a vehicle that didn’t see the light change. Hopefully the at-fault driver had Bodily Injury, because if they don't your trip to the hospital is going to stack up, and fast! Not carrying Uninsured Motorist is really gambling, and with over 20% of drivers carrying inadequate coverage (10/20 Bodily Injury or less) the odds are against you. You could always obtain a lawyer and bring the at-fault party to court, but this can be expensive and there is always the risk that the at-fault party doesn’t have anything to sue for.

What if I told you there is a way to avoid playing Russian roulette on the road with these uninsured drivers?

“Enter, Uninsured Motorist”

Remember when pricing out your coverage:

“Insurance doesn’t seem as expensive when you need it”

Uninsured motorist coverage comes in many different limit options. You are required to have Bodily Injury (BI) included on your policy before you can purchase uninsured motorist and you can only select a limit of uninsured motorist coverage which does not exceed that of your bodily injury limit.
Ex.) You have Bodily Injury (BI) Limits of 15/30. You can only insure yourself with 15/30 limits of Uninsured Motorist (UM).
Now say you have $250,000/$500,000 BI limits. You now have several options for UM coverage ranging from $10,000/$20,000, $25,000/$50,000, $100,000/$300,000, etc. However, you still would not be allow to exceed your 250/500 BI limits.

There is one way to insure yourself with higher limits of UM if you cannot increase your Bodily Injury (BI) any higher or don't want to carry higher limits of BI. This is called stacking. When you stack your UM coverage your UM limits is now multiplied by the number of vehicles insured on your policy. Also in some cases this can be applied across multiple vehicles on multiple policies, but this is a little more complicated and you would be best to ask your agent how this would work for you in your situation.

Ex.) You have UM limits of $100,000/$300,000 on a 3 vehicle auto policy. Coverage is NOT stacked. In the event you involved in a not-at-fault accident occurs that triggers you’re UM coverage you would still only have limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per vehicle to cover your parties’ injuries.

Now say you had stacked you’re UM coverage, the same accident listed above would now effectively cover you with limits of $300,000 per person and $900,000 per accident with the same $100,000/$300,000 UM limits listed on your policy. This is because your stacked coverage (100/300) is now multiplied by 3 (3 Vehicles Scheduled on your policy).

Questions to ask include:

Does my policy include Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

What limits of Uninsured Motorist am I eligible for on my policy?

Who is covered under my Uninsured Motorist coverage?

How does my Uninsured Motorist work in the event of an accident?

Is my Uninsured Motorist coverage stacked?

Comprehensive Vs Collison Coverage

Did you know that almost all policies include a deductible you may have to pay before your policy pays for the damage to your motorcycle? Depending on how your bike is damaged your policy may cover you claim under Comprehensive or Collision. These coverage options almost always include a deductible which can come in amounts of $100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000 and in some cases even higher amounts. While these deductibles can come in handy with lowering the cost of your insurance coverage, it does leave you exposed to higher out-of-pocket cost after an accident.

Some companies have the option to include “disappearing deductibles” which can lower your selected deductibles for Comprehensive and Collison over time.

Ex) Your deductible for both Comp/Coll is reduced by $100 each term you go accident free. If you had a $500 deductible you could go down to a $0 deductible after 5 terms with no accidents. Each company is different though so ask you agent about how this valuable coverage option would work on your policy.

Collision coverage covers your motorcycle in the event your motorcycle is in an accident while it is being driven (under its own power). This coverage would protect you if you were driving and accidently struck another moving vehicle, a parked car, or even a tree.

But did you know what would happen if a tree hits your motorcycle? If your motorcycle is NOT being operated, such as being parked in your driveway during a storm, this is where Comprehensive coverage would come in. Comprehensive coverage would cover your motorcycle in the above accident where a tree fell on your bike and puts a dent or two (or more) in your beloved “chopper”.

Questions to ask include:

Does my policy include Comprehensive and Collision?

What are my deductibles for both my Comprehensive and Collision coverage?

Will Comprehensive and Collison coverage cover the full cost of my motorcycle? (referred to as replacement cost)

Property Damage

Did you know that your property damage coverage doesn’t cover your property? Your property damage coverage is there to protect you from being sued if you ever damage someone else property in an accident you are deemed at-fault. If you crash into someone else car, or even say their house, your property damage is designed to pay that person for the damage you have caused in your insured motorcycle.

Property Damage is one of the required coverages you need for your Florida no-fault requirement. In this case all you typically would need to register your motorcycle is a minimum of $10,000 property damage. But what if you hit a Mercedes Benz? This is one of the reasons that most companies offer higher limits of property damage, some of the other increments you can purchase this coverage include $20,000, $50,000, $100,000, as well as higher limits with some companies. When you are shopping your coverage make sure to check out which options you have when selecting your property damage, in many cases it is rather inexpensive to increase this coverage. This is nice to know because paying a tiny bit more per month can make a HUGE difference if you are ever unfortunate enough to be the cause of an accident with a 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera S Coupe (Over $100,000 Retail!). If your agent hasn’t recommend higher limits of property damage you should be looking for a new agent who will.

Questions to ask include:

What limit of Property Damage (PD) does my policy cover me for?

What limits of Property Damage (PD) are available to me at without changing any other coverage? (your PD may be capped based on your limits of Bodily Injury)